It was, at the time it was spoken, quite honestly, one of the most depressing things I’d ever heard.  We were at a funeral of a high school friend’s Dad where I ran into an old friend.  Now, I’d met this guy way back in high school.  Whip-smart, he won all sorts of scholarships.  Right out of college, the guy made a ton of money in the market.  It looked like he was going to conquer the world.  And then, well, he just kind of stalled.  He made enough money to not have to work.  So, he spent a number of years globetrotting, basically living for good times and those all-important “experiences” we hear so much about these days.

            But at the funeral you could tell.  Something had him off.  Perhaps the idea of death challenged him or the way he was living, I don’t really know.  Regardless, several of us high school friends stood in the sanctuary waiting for the service to begin.  We did a little of what old friends always do, reliving the glory days.  But then we began to talk about where are lives were in the present.

            Most of us had settled down, had families so, we were talking about soccer games and carpools…parent stuff.  It was then I heard the words – “Well,” said this friend in response, “the only thing that really matters is your frequent flyer status.”

            It was a shocking admission but, I’ve come to believe, a truthful one. 

            My friend with his money and his free time had chosen to make his frequent flyer status the most significant thing in his life.  And I understand, I really do.  He’d simply taken what he valued most and spoken it aloud.

            And, believe me, I’m not telling you this to run somebody down.  No, I recall this story because I think at times, we all get our priorities shaken up and out of whack.  Sometimes, every one of us here takes something they shouldn’t and make it matter to their lives far more than it should.  We do it with work, with our hobbies, even with our kids’ sports leagues. My friend’s admission merely gave words to the reality that a great many people in these days.  That what matters most to them is what they have or what they stand to get.

            It makes sense.  We live in a culture that tells us in a bunch of different ways that the only thing worth living for is yourself.

            But you see, when the only thing that matters in your life is you, then you aren’t really living much of a life to begin with, even if it’s littered with the greatest tech, the nicest home and the most exclusive frequent flyer status. 

My friend, God bless him, lives in a bubble.  A pleasant one, to be sure, but a bubble nevertheless.  While that bubble might be filled with the latest and the greatest, detached from anything else, life simply has one final stop.  Meaninglessness. 

            Now, I don’t want to bore you, I really don’t.  After all, rule number one of preaching – don’t stink on Easter Sunday.  But I feel compelled to share with you I think that this spiral into meaninglessness has a cause.  An origination, if you will.  It begins whenever Christians silence the Word of God in their lives, either by choice, by distraction or by societally-influenced distrust.

            That’s why, like everyone here, I’m so filled with joy this Easter Sunday morning.  There is much to celebrate, to be sure.  But chiefly among the reasons we rejoice is this – Jesus’ resurrection matters.

            As in it means something.  And not just to me or you or the people listening online.  No, the Resurrection matters in ways we may not always think about or be aware of but, oh, how it matters!

            To begin with, because Jesus rose from the dead, we can make three TWO assertions about Him. 

            The first of these is that JESUS is exactly who HE claimed to be.  This first one is important, y’all.